P s 

3507 

AsfeCa 

1898 



■W 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Chap*....._-. Copyright No. 

ShelfiAl£_; 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



CATEECHEE OF IvEEOWEE 



A DESCKirXIVE TOEM. 



J^.TONIEL. A.M. 



Nashville, Tenn.: 

PuBLnniNi; House of the Methodist Episcopal Chirch, South, 

Barbee & Smith, Agents. 

1898. 



./x> 






/ i >o* 



EnteiXHl, acoordiny to Act of Congress, in the year 18!i8, 

By J. W. Daniel, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washin,i;ton. 



1898* 






To THE Memory of 

Who Died at Sumter, S. C, Dec. 1G, 1895, 

Aged Twenty-One Months and Eight Days, 

This Little Yolfme Is IMost Sacredly Dedicated 

By the Father, 

Whose Heart Has Never Ceased to Sorrow, 

AND Who Hopes to Meet His Little 

Guardian Angel in the 

Better Land. 



INSCRIPTION. 

The story contained within these pages is a 
historical fact. In 1750 Capt. James Francis 
and his two sons, Allan and Henry, in company 
with two other pioneers, Messrs. Gowdy and 
Savage, came to the vicinity of Ninety-Six, S. C, 
and established a trading post with the Chero- 
kees. Allan Francis, with his father, frequently 
visited the Cherokee country on trading expedi- 
tions. During these visits he became acquainted 
with Cateechee, or Isaqueena, as she is some- 
times called. She was a slave to the old chief, 
Kuruga, and a captive Choctaw maiden, hence 
the two names by which she is known in tradi- 
tion. The former is Cherokee and the latter is 
Choctaw. The names mean the same thing— 
"The Deer's Head." She was a beautiful girl, 
and Allan Francis became enamored with her 
personal charms. A few years after the estab- 
lishment of the trading post Kuruga determined 
to massacre the traders and appropriate their 
effects. The plot was betrayed by Cateechee, 



O CATEECHEE OF KKEOWEE. 

who rode through the forest from Keeowce, a 
famous Cherokee town located on Keeowee 
River, in what is now the northwestern part of 
Pickens County, S. C, to Ninety-Six, in what is 
now Greenwood County, and revealed Kuruga's 
dark designs to her lover, Allan Francis. The 
betrayal of the plot thwarted the designs of the 
old chief. Cateechee did not return to Keeowee, 
but became the wife of Allan Francis. Some 
years after this event young Francis and Ca- 
teechee were captured by Cherokee braves and 
carried into the Cherokee country, where they 
remained for nearly two years. Finally they 
escaped, as related in the poem, and came back 
to the old trading-post, where they lived and 
died. 

Stump-House Mountain, the scene of their es- 
cape, is six miles north of Walhalla, S. C, and 
around its base flows Isaqueena Creek; and the 
falls down which it is said Isaqueena leaped are 
at the southern entrance of the somewhat f:i- 
mous (locally) tunnel of the Blue liidge rail- 
road partly excavated through Stump-House 
Mountain. 

The Indian names contained in the poem are 



IXSCNIPTIOX. y 

correctly written and defined, and the reader 
may rest assured that the meaning of these 
names is correct in every instance. This part of 
the poem has cost the author much research. 
The place-names — Ninety-Six; Six Miles, a creek 
in Pickens County; Twelve Miles, a small river 
in Pickens County; Eighteen Creek, constituting 
a lengthy portion of the line between Pickens 
and .Vnderson Counties; Three-and-Tw^enty and 
Six-and-Twenty, creeks in Anderson County — 
were all named in commemoration of Cateechee's 
fomous and heroic ride. These streams crossed 
her path, and were respectively six, twelve, 
eighteen, twenty-three, and twenty-six miles at 
the point where she crossed them from the 
Cherokee town, Iveeowee; and Ninety-Six, the 
terminus of her ride, is just ninety-six miles from 
Keeowee. 

The Indian names which the poem contains 
are easily pronounced, if the reader will remem- 
ber that every Cherokee word has the same 
number of syllables that it has vowels — every 
vowel is sounded as in Latin. 

The following key to the pronunciation of 
the place-names and the names of the dramatis 



10 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

personce, will aid the readei' in giving the correct 
sounds to the vowels: 

a as in law. 

II as in cut. 

a unmarked, as a in father. 

1 as i in wish. 

The author is grateful to the public for the 
kind i-eception given to his books alread}^ pub- 
lished, and in submitting this volume he realizes 
very keenly that it is rather dangerous to appear 
before the public in the guise of a poet. But 
he wishes to reaffirm his confidence and trust in 
men, and distinctly' to state that he is not a poet, 
and that the design of this little volume is by no 
means to lay claim to the favor of the Muses, 
but to record a great historic event (in a style 
similar to Longfellow's " Hiawatha "), which 
ought to be the common property of a great 
people, who to-day occupy the hunting-grounds 
of the red man. Author. 

Abbeville, S. C, 1S98. 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

BOOK L 

Lovely Keeowee's vale stretched 

Far north, while the sable shadows 

Of approaehino: night fell o'er it. 

'Twas dark here and light there— spotted 

As a leopard, tleeked with light. 

Dappled with spots l)y the pale moon, 

Which, now and then, peeped through clouds 

And l)edecke<l the vale with shadows. 

Like a silver thread the river 

Flowed through the beautiful vale— 

:Murnun-ed sweetly— whispered secrets 

To the stars, and gurgled sweet songs 

To the moon, which peeped through clouds 

Quickly to steal silent kisses 

From the sparkling waters, chatting 

With stones, toying with the l)obbing 

Boughs of alder, beech, and willows; 

Drooping to lave their arms, or tips 

Of their tiny tingers, in that 

Clear stream, ilowing fresh from the womb 

Of the towering blue mountains. 

Keeowee, where mulberries grow— 

(H) 



12 CATh'ECHEE OF KEKOWEE. 

Place of iiiull)erries, whose ripe fruit 
Crowned the ])()ar(l of the red man. 
In its seast)n, every year; 
Whose roots, 1)eaten to pvilp and east 
Into the still waters, made drunk 
The tish, which, thus drugofed. floated, 
Stupid, on the eddy water, 
P^asy for the angler to take. 
Keeowee, Cateechee's wild home, 
Was the jewel of Kuru<>-a\s 
Vast possession of crags and vales, 
Lying like a diamond rare 
At the bottom of a blue lake. 
Barricaded with crags and rocks. 
Standing up like pickets on guard. 
Keeping vigil o'er the jewel, 
Wliit'h hiy at their liases, as safe 
As a daughter with her l)osom 
Bared, sleeping by her sire's couch. 
The town perished in days long ])ast. 
But the laughing river nnnnnui-s 
Still the red man's beautiful name — 
Bears the Cherokee word as soft 
As the ripple of its waters; 
And enshrines forever noble 
Memories of Isaqueena, 
Choctaw maid and lovely captive— 
A slave girl to savage masters — 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. lo 

Whose name, Deer's Head, they transhited 
Into C^herokee '' Cateechee/' 
The maid, lonely, lithe, and o^raceful. 
Stood l>y the pellucid waters. 
Stooped low, whispered soft, a messao:e: 
"Allan Francis, heed my warning, 
For Kvu-uo-a plans to-night thy death." 
The l>reeze hissed through the holly. 
The tall pine-tree sent forth wailings, 
The leaves of the Ijirch-tree rustled 
Like the robes of an unseen ghost. 
The thick foliage of the oaks 
Grilled till her blood was chilled. 
The clear waters groaned sadly. 
The spray dropped from the willows. 
Like tears from a lovely maid's eyes, 
The moon ran behind a thick cloud. 
There was silence, the ])reeze lulled. 
And Cateechee glided lithely 
Into the dense wood that crowned 
The brow of the rugged hillside. 
What made nature rudely shudder i 
Was Cateechee's secret message 
Awful to the flowing waters ( 
Aye, death lurked in the council, 
cJim])ridge," the home of the paleface. 
Must fall— dusky warriors, painted, 

*The name of the old fort at Ninety-Six. 



14 CATEECHKE OF KEEOWEIC. 

riuiiied, and armed, dauced wildly 

lioLind the o-lowing beaeou's red glare; 

While Cateechee whispered softly 

To the water-sprites her message 

Of deliverance and warning. 

Secrets of great import, like lead 

On calm waters, sink themselves deep 

Into the souFs secret chambers 

As thought will permit them to go; 

But they trouble the calm bosom, 

And will not stay buried from sight. 

They cry out for help, like a man 

Buii'eting the waves, and will cry 

To all nature till they are heard. 

Til' interment, though imposed 

By themselves, is not interment. 

For it gives them tongues to speak. 

And a voice that is shrill and loud. 

Even if it be but the wailings 

Of ghosts from which nature cowers. 

Secrets have no cemeteries. 

For they are not subject to death. 

Secrets! there are none on this earth, 

One, two, or more hearts are too small 

For one little burden so shy. 

Yet so heavy, as to bow heads 

And sink hearts to the earth's level. 

Brave Cateechee's heart aches and throbs 



CATEKCHEE OF KEEOWEE. 17 

For a sharer of its biirdeii; 

If the river will uot bear it, 

Nor the moou nor the trees hear it, 

Then the doomed paleface iimst share it. 

The Heet ponies grazed the grass 

That grew tall beneath the old trees, 

Under whose weird shadows lovely 

Isaqueena shyly glided 

From trunk to trunk, like a shadow, 

Clad in buskins, kilted to knee, 

With white fawn-skins Itraided richly — 

From beast to slave the kilt had come, 

But the grace it covered was one. 

" Do the ponies love me? " she said, 

Her heart aching sadly with dread. 

Lest some eagle eye spy her form, 

And divine her purpose to bear 

The news of the colony's doom 

To the ear of her white lover 

At Fort Cambridge. Ninety and six 

Lonely miles of shadows like these. 

That now lie across her pathway. 

Like wel)s, as if giant s})iders, 

]Mystic and unseen, sought to catch 

The prey burdened with a secret. 

Which Dame Nature deigned not to share. 

'' Ninety and six miles to Cambridge! " 

She said. " AVill the ponies help me^ " 



18 CATEECHt:K OF KEEOWEE. 

Her l)rown hand was .stretchecl to theiii 

As they gazed shyly at her. 

It Avas for a moment only; 

Then they turned and scampered oti', 

Save one, which, it seemed, moved 

A\'ith compassion, came and lieked 

Her brown hand, like a dog that courts 

Friendship, and makes motions and sounds 

To touch pity, mercy, and love. 

Throned in the master's bosom. 

From her waist she took a girdle. 

Cut from l)uti'alo-skin, pliant, 

Tanned with the brain of the ))east;* 

Then she improvised a rein. 

To guide her steed over the hills, 

And through valleys, to where fated 

Cambridge stood, like the out-picket 

Of the armies of the paleface, 

iSIenacing the fruitful highlands. 

Where herds of deer cropped the cane. 

And shy foxes boldly gamboled; 

Where the stately buftalo walked, 

Packs of shaggy black Avohes howled; 

Where the cat of the gods screamed,! 

And the lieaAy-antlei'ed elk fed — 

*The Clierokees tunned skins with the bruin of the 
beust. 

tSee Note A. 



CATEEVHEE OF KKEOWEE. 19 

Happiest tract of all the lands 
Claimed l)y the stealthy red man. 
In the thickest of the shadows 
Isaqueena mounted her steed, 
And sat with grace, as if pony 
And maid in one truly had grown. 
And as the fleet-footed pony 
Bore away his lovely rider, 
Noiseless were the footfalls, rapid 
The gait, as they passed long shadows. 
Which appeared not now as nets, 
To arrest the maid, but woven 
Tapestry to carpet the way, 
Flecked with designs rare and old. 
Richly planned and embossed. 
Tlie thick shadows seemed to l)ear 
Upward the horse and the rider. 
•"Yonah, the good Choctaw prophet, 
Muffles his feet," said Cateechee, 
Lest a foot should strike the hard earth, 
And thus draw the eagle-eyed 
Warriors, to behohl the damsel, 
Urged l»y love, whipped by hate. 
For she was a Choctaw slave girl. 
Spurred by revenge, drawn by hope. 
And inspired by the Good Spirit — 
Carrying an awful secret 
In her mind and heaving l)osoni, 



20 GATE EC HE E OF KEEOWEE. 

Was there ever a maid so bold? 
With so many iioljle motives 
To give courage of heart and speed 
Of foot, force of will, and purpose 
Of soul, to l)rave fearful dangers'? 
Onward she rode, like the whirlwind 
In speed, like the arrow in course, 
And as noiseless as flight of bird, 
Yonah, her nation's good prophet, 
Blessed her journey and gave her speed. 
Six Miles'"' gurgled, in the silent 
Night hours, a song — hushed qidckly 
At her conung — wailed, so))l)ed. 
And then boldly cheered the girl, 
As she crossed it like a phantom. 
Scream of panther greeted her ears; 
Then she ])owed low her })are head, 
Whispered to the panting pony, 
"Onward, speed like the cat of (lodl"' 
And he leaped forward faster. 
Till the horrid scream was drowned. 
In the deep black wood behind her. 
Whippoorwills regaled the maid 
In sad strains of wild night music; 
Chuck-wilTs-widow, sadder to hear. 
Came from farther otl" in the wood; 
But no fears dismayed the damsel, 

* See Note B. 



CATEECHEE OF h'EEOWEF. 21 

Save thoughts of Kuriio:a''s warriors. 
Twehe Miles crossed the way, marked 
On no map, nor traced on earth 
By hoofs^ wheels, nor by trees Ijlazed 
With the woodman's best friend, the ax 
The stars were her faithful sisrn-l)oards, 
Through the lonely, trackless forest. 
Winding Twelve Miles bathed the sides 
Of the sweating pony, and gave 
Its cool waters to quench his thirst. 
Then the Eighteen told the distance 
She had come from Keeowee's vale. 
The stream chatted over the rocks, 
Loudly, as if dangers were gone; 
But Cateechee lingered not. 
The swift w'aters, dashed here and there 
Over the stones in the channel. 
Could no more stop their course than she. 
Three-and-Twenty was more noisy, 
Five miles farther from the red men, 
As they sat in council, seemed 
To give even nature more tongue. 
Six-and -Twenty thundered over 
The falls, where she crossed the stream, 
Foaming, fretting, leaping, spouting — 
The swift waters plunged o'er rocks. 
And so distance gives men courage, 
As it lends enchantment to views. 



22 CATRKCIIKE OF KEKOWEE. 

But Cateechee .swept on and on, 
Like the frag-nient of a white cloud, 
Driven ]»y the lieree wind over 
A dark hackgromid, where the storm king 
Mutters, howls, and holds his councils. 
Onward she swept, till there gleamed, 
In the east, a harl)inger bright. 
Of approaching day, and till l)irds 
Twittered, in the l)ush, by her path; 
Then she stopped l)y the l)rook-side. 
Plucked ])erries and grapes from vines. 
That hung luscious l)unches round her. 
And festooned rustic archways 
Over the l)rown ])eauty, standing 
Like some Juno, kilted to knee, 
On synnnetrical lim])S poised — 
A queen of the wild-wood, feasting 
At the sumptuous ])oard of Nature. . 
Now she laves her hands in the l)ro()k, 
Bathes her brow, and loosens her hair, 
Which falls round her shoulders and waist, 
Reachmg far l)elow the l>raided 
Deerskin kilt she gracefully wore. 
The horse cropped the grass and sedge, 
While fair Isaqueena rested. 
And a songster, l)old and daring. 
Perched on the top of willow 
Bush, sang, in the Cherokee tongue, 



CATKECJIKI': OF h'KKOWEE. 2'.] 

Sweetl}^ to Cateecliee, ''feech'e^ 
"'TeccJicc^ ^tccchec^ it sang to her, 
O'er and o'er, till from the deep-wood, 
Isaqiieena, "'qiiceixi^ ^<iu<'<n<i^ 
'' Qdi't'i}^ came l)aek in far-ott' answer, 
Like an echo, mellow and soft 
As the Choctaw language she spoke. 
"'Tis his soul in wood-thrush and wren," 
She said. "" He comes to meet the slave. 
Whom he would make one day his squaw. 
The fair paleface wanders in sleep. 
And the l)irds lend wings to his soul.*" 
^'' Cheego, Clieego^" sang the redlnrd, 
" Like the paleface you talk," said she. 
"She-go, xh.e-go^'' she repeated o'er. 
Smiled till pearls peeped from lips 
Olive hued, tinged with ruby. 
"Would the saucy l)ird tell my liight 
To Kuruga's bloody warriors? 
Or does it, perchance, reveal my 
Coming to Allan Francis' brave band ? " 
She asked, and then mounted her steed 
And sped onward like the swift Avind. 
Allan Francis was in her heart, 
And Kuruga's hate for white men 
Drove her forward like an arrow 
From the red man's well-bent longl)ow; 
And the sweet sonsr of the wood-thrush. 



24 CATEKCIIEI': OP KKF.OWEK. 

Always far away in the w^ood, 

Called her toward her way's end — 

'"''Imqueena^ ''(/ueena^ "'qxecna^ 

''Queen,'''' was music ripplino-, mellow 

And soft as notes of pure silver, 

Ringing through the lonesome forest — 

It was Choctaw pure and simple, 

And Cateechee loved the bird 

That had learned Choctaw so well. 

Qnoo-ran-he-qua, place of tall oaks, 

Pleasant place of fruitful white oaks, 

By the white man's Coronaca 

Now displaced, was quickly passed; 

And anon the curling column 

Of blue smoke from Francis' cabin 

Greets her eyes, through the mists of morn, 

And her lover stood in the door. 

Clad in fringed l)uckskin ])reeches. 

And a hunter's shirt of doeskin, 

Both embroidered ])y Cateechee, 

And worn for the love he bore her. 

The l)reech of his trusty riile 

Rested on the earthen threshold, 

AVhile he grasped the long barrel, 

Like a vise, and leaned on it. 

Under the broad girdle he wore 

Was a knife with buckhorn handle; 

On his head an otter-skin cap. 



CATKFA'UKK OF KEEOWKF.. 

Thus attired the forest rnnger 
Peered through the sol)er green woods, 
Till C-ateechee's form came to sight 
Under the matted boughs of oaks 
And elms, stately cedars and gums. 
In the shutting morning shadows 
He beheld her, like Rebecca, 
Isaac's bride, approaching the tent 
Of her lord in the good old days, 
When man's wooing was by proxy. 
Then from her steed's back she leaped. 
Graceful as a fawn of the woods. 
Her black locks fell round her shoulders, 
As she stood })y Allan Francis. 
Mid the shadows of the forest. 
In the shadows she had started. 
In the shadows ends her journey, 
But the sunshine hastens the dawn 
Of a peaceful voyage through life, 
For Kuruga's plans are thwarted. 
Ninety-and-six miles of shadows 
Have l)een crossed by the damsel, 
Who now shares the humble cabin 
Of her lover — Allan Francis. 



HOOK II. 

Thk \vin<l howled through U'utiess forests, 
Dark clouds shut out the light of stars, 
Blackness walked through earth and o'er skies, 
Draping emptiness and ol)jects 
In the sablest mantles of gloom. 
'Twas a night that robbers covet. 
And thieves love — a verital)le 
Paradise for the assassin's deed. 
Allan Francis and Cateechee 
Sat by blazing, crackling oak logs. 
That drove the gloom from their cabin. 
Flooding it with mellow splendor, 
While the storm king reveled over 
Earth and sky like a tierce demon. 
Overhead the joist groaned with hams 
Of fat venison, loin of l)ear. 
Juicy joints of fat elks, quarter 
Of the shaggy buffalo bull, 
And fat sides of prowling bruin, 
Hung side by side from the rafter 
Beams of Allan's humble cal)in. 
They told of the lucky hunter's 
Chase in halcyon autunm's golden 
Days, of fruit and sol)cr colors, 
(26) 



CATEE('IIEI<: OP KKKOWEE. 27 

And made the long- winter's supply 

Of sweet and nutritions wild meats. 

Burt'alo roljes, and skins of l>ear, 

Lined the cnule walls of the ]>uilding — 

Matted soft its well-heaten dirt tloor 

Like a fabled Turkish eham))er. 

Antlers of elk and deer, trophies 

Of the chase adorned the rouofh walls 

Of the peaceful hunter's cahin 

Here and there mid the skin hangiucrs. 

So it seemed these timid wild beasts, 

Driven by the storm from their lairs, 

In the dark wood, sought to enter 

Allan's cot, through the skin curtains 

Thrusting their heads, heavy antlered. 

The skin drapings swayed to, 'twas those 

Beasts, it seemed^ pushing inward; 

The tire shadows flickered coyly 

O'er the thickly matted dirt floor, 

The skin drapings swayed to, 'twas those 

Beasts, afl'righted, l)ackward drawing 

Their heads, crowned with thickly set prongs. 

'Tw^as not so, but so it seemed 

That cold, stormy night in Allan's 

Ilumljle cabin^ -where the tirelight 

Battled with the in-rolling darkness. 

On the hairy rugs Cateechee, 

Queen of the home, placed a fawn-skin 



ZO CATEECIIEE OF KKEOWEE. 

tSilver-hued and spotted richly, 
Like a graceful leopard's mottled 
Pelt, and dressed soft and as pliant 
As the tinest fal)ric of silk — 
A soft pallet for her l)a])y, 
A phnnp girl in her teens of months. 
Thus taught in Kuruga's wigwam 
That grace of fawn ne'er al)andon 
The maid reared on fawn-skin })allet.* 
Baby cooed and mother smiled, 
While the rain-drops beat on the roof, 
And winds moaned, and trees bent Ioav 
To earth, and fought with their lapping 
Limbs each other like mad furies. 
Suddenly the door was thrust back, 
And in rushed the storm with rage 
So fierce that sparks, embers, and smoke, 
Hot and l)linding. Hew from hearthstone 
O'er the room, like clouds from Erebus. 
But with the storm and smoke there came 
Yells that shook, like leaves of aspen. 
Rafter beams, joists, and the huge logs. 
For Kuruga's warriors were there, 
They had scented the prey to their lair. 
Bayed at them now in the tire's red glare. 
Like old ]>h)()dhounds, deep-mouthed, bay 
Avhen 

*8ee Note C. 



CATKKi'HKE OF KEKOWFK. 5^9 

They've arrested criminal men. 

Allan Francis' muscular arms 

Hurled at the foe l)illets oi wood, snatclied 

From the store of the night's 

Ample supply of dry fuel. 

For home he fought — 'twas his castle — 

'Gainst odds and fate 1)ravely he wrestled, 

Till he laid low many a foe, 

Painted and ])edecked with plmnes 

Of bald eagles, mottled snake-skins, 

And sharp claws of prowling panther. 

But the number of the foemcn 

Was too great for Allan Francis. 

They soon pressed him to the wall. 

And like vises pinioned his arms 

To his sides, and bound them tightly 

With strong straps of l)ultalo-skin. 

Then they looted his cabin, burned it 

To the ground, and led its inmates 

Into the fierce, howling tempest. 

Isaqueena bore her l)aby, 

On her l>ack, out into darkness 

That could ]>e felt by her sad soul. 

The wind sunk from tierce blasts to sobs. 

Soughed and moinmed, then lulled, whispered, 

And fled silently and softly, 

As a fox steals into dense copse. 

When the hunter winds his keen l)last. 



30 



CATEECIIEE OE KEEOH'EE. 



The trees stood still and wept cold tears, 

The clouds parted, and tlie stars peeped down 

On the captives, securely ])ound. 

And led by Kuru^a's warriors 

Back to Keeo wee's far-off vale. 

Ninety-and-six miles through dreary 

Forests, tangled copse, and waste-lands, 

Isaqueena and her husband 

Were Jed to the stake or torture, 

Or to galling servitude's bonds. 

In two days and nights the journey 

Was completed, and the sad captives 

Were l)ound in the council-chamber. 

To await the coming of the Ravens.* 

* See Note D. 



BOOK III. 

The braves, in the council-chaiiil)er, 
Silently sat, and the captives 
Stood in the midst of the circle, 
Bound with thongs of liuffalo hide. 
Sinawa, the Hawk's Head, was there. 
Warrior of renown, from lovely 
Toxawa's vale, weeping waters — 
Place of weeping — where clear waters 
Weep in their mid leap from the rocks, 
In the bed of the tortuous stream — 
TaJimwaJiko it was then. 
In the soft tongue of the red men, 
Who lirst listened, and then, entranced, 
Named the rapid, gushing brooklet. 
From the sad wail of its waters. 
As they sighed, then groaned and wept 
From the lonely mountain's deep woml) 
To where they were born to mingle 
With bold Keeowee's clear waters. 
Yorhalehe, tall and mordant, 
A brave from Chaestoe's valley, 
Then TchestoJu was the vale's name 
(Place of rabl)its, good land of hares). 
Sat and smoked his heavy stone pipe — 
Scowled at Isaqueena's baby, 
Scowled and grunted like a fat swine. 

(31) 



32 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

Nellewagalehe was there, 
From Tsiyaln^ place of otters, 
Cheeohee,* in the white man's tongue, 
Phice where tlie white-spotted otter 
Slides down the steep banks of the stream 
Into waters clear as crystal. 
Nellew^agalehe, moody 
And morose, sat still and smoked, 
Like old Yorhalehe's shadow. 
Cheesto Kaiere, Old Rabbit, 
Sat in council from Nayuhi 
(Sand-place, where the white sand g-litters, 
It meant; now disfigured rudely, 
By the transcript, harsh Noyowee). 
It was here the red man got sand. 
Which he used to polish his shafts — 
Arrows for the longbow, arrows 
For the hunter and the warrior. 
Old Owasta, small and wiry. 
Hailed from Tm<j'i^ high stream, flowing- 
Far up mid the high peaks of the foot-hills 
Of the lofty Blue Ridge mountains 
(Chauga takes its place in our tongue). 
And as he sat mid the warriors, 
Pufled his pipe, like spurting 2^xCujt\ 
Leaped the stones in its high, rough 1)ed. 
And as he sat gazing downward 
* See Note E. 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

On the captive Allan Francis 
And Cateecbee and her l^aby, 
He broke the long silence and gloom 
That hung- o'er the solemn ct)uncil: 
'' Braves will not try squaw and papoose," 
Said he. " Let Kuruga send home. 
To the wigwam of the women, 
The slave squaw who loves the paleface 
More than the l)raves of her people/' 
Well received, his bold oration 
:\Iadc the warriors nod approval. 
And Cateechee and her baby 
Were led to Kurnga's wigwam. 
Allan Francis stood mute and still 
As a statue at the parting 
Of his wife and l)a1)e; for he knew 
The old warriors watched for some sign 
Of pain or grief, that they might brand 
Him a coward, worthy of death. 
He was not a stoic, nor cold 
Of heart, l)ut a stoic he was 
To the l)ra\es, who watched him keenly— 
And they lauded his stolid l)earing. 
Then Yahoma came to his seat, 
A l)rave chief from U'liiKii, 
(Oolenoi, the white man calls it; 
Place of tu])ers, where grow turnips. 
Fertile land of tubers and grain). 
3 



34 CATEECHEE OE KEEOWEE. 

Then Corane came from his tribe, 

From the fertile hmd of high hills, 

Gentle dales, and broad, deep valleys, 

A shrewd chief and a wise Raven, 

From lutivumd'axihl^ place 

Where falls the wild duck from her nest* 

Under the tall canopied clifi's 

(Conneross, the white man spells it) ; 

And the tall clitis, where ducks built nests, 

Were not more rugged than the old chief 

Was rough and rude. A scowl and paint. 

On his scarred face lent him terror 

As he looked on Allan Francis. 

Old Kolona, lV4oved Raven, 

Honorary title ])estowed 

By the braves of P^statoo 

(Sfatai/i, place of the green l)irds), 

A green Carolina parrot. 

Stuffed with soft moss, perched on his head. 

Mid the feathers of bald eagles — 

'Twas the standard of his bra^e tri])e — 

Sat and smoked in the mute council, 

Like all the l)raves now assembled. 

Anaweyahia, the Wolf, 

From Sal Utah, f good land of corn, 

Woltish visaged, sat and leered, 

* See Note F. 

t This name is written Suluda, a corniptionof Salntah. 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 35 

At the victim Ijound to the stake. 

Skitio:imstu, wrinkled wizard, 

AVhose skin wigw^ani, painted with liideous 

]Monsters, eni])lenis of the ])hiek arts 

Which he practised, stood at the ))ase 

Of grand Charshillactay, the falls, 

In Saratay's lovely valley — 

Charshillactay, clear, wdiite water — 

Foaming falls of the Saratay, 

Changed now to Jocassee, lovely 

Name of Attakulla's daughter, 

Gentle bride of brave Nargoochee, 

In the happy hunting-haven 

Of the ancient Estatoes.* 

The great council of chiefs, warriors. 

And old conjurers, sly and shrew^d, 

Thus convened to try the captives, 

Sat and smoked till the sun sank low 

Into the lap of the blue hills, 

That rose to kiss leaden-hued skies. 

And shut out the light of day; 

Leaving on earth darkness and blasts, 

]\I()aning Avinds and chilly bluster. 

The high peaks were crowned with golden 

Helmets, the spruce-trees made their plumes. 

As they stood like sentinels bold. 

Of advancing colunms of blue, 

* See Note G. 



36 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

AVhile long shadows were thrown over 

Lovely Keeowee's valley, like the broken, 

Skulking columns of advancing 

Scouts on the outposts in battle — 

Harbingers of coming darkness. 

Skiagunsta rose from his seat, 

Pointed to the white sun setting. 

Then he looked at Allan Francis 

Bound to the stake with thongs, and said: 

"The hope of the paleface now wanes, 

The sun goes to his great wigwam 

In the west — to the far-off land 

Of braves — he goes to our fathers' 

Happy hunting-grounds in the west; 

I)ut ^v liile he sleeps the moon keeps wmIcIi. 

The moon is the red man's good friend: 

She tells us how to mju'k the time. 

The moon is the red man's good hook. 

The sun is the red man's good friend: 

He will come back from his wigwam 

In the west, and kindle a great 

Fire in the east for his children. 

The stars are the red man's good fiiciuls: 

They teach us how to walk safely 

In the dark woods while the paleface 

Sleeps in his strong, well-built wigwam. 

And Yohewali* loves the red man, 

■" Yoliewah was the name by which the Clierokees 
worshiped the Good Spirit. 



CATEKCHKE OF KKKOWEE. 87 

Good Yobewab loves bis cbibb-eii; 

Let tbe paleface fear Yobewab, 

For be favors our great nation. 

And belps our great warriors to bind 

Tbe great paleface witb strong bandages 

From ahowwc.s* pliant gray pelt. 

Let tbe paleface please Yobewab, 

And Awatahoirwe^ tbe great 

Hunter, tbe deer killer of God 

For tbe people, will teacb bini bow 

To trap beavers, and bow to sboot 

Tbe fat wild deer for Cateecbee; 

And let bini become Kuruga's 

Faitbful son, tbe red man's good trieud/' 

ToeuJuth^ T(>e\(h<ih^ 

Was tbe cry of tbe old warriors 

Wben tbe cunning speaker sat down. 

Tben Colona, Beloved R'lven, 

Loosed tbe tbong tbat l)Ound tbe paleface, 

And led bim to old Kuruga, 

Wbo gave bim tbe pipe. He smoked it, 

PuHed a cloud of blue smoke eastward, 

Tben anotber westward, and tben 

Soutbward flew tbe curling blue smoke 

From bis lips; tben nortbward tbe em])leni 

Of peace and good will took its course. 

Likewise tbe old warriors smoked, one 

*See Note H. 



38 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

And nil, till the pipe bad passed round 

The whole circle of the council. 

Allan Francis then repeated 

Their most sacred word of honor — 

Toeuhah^ T<)('nJi(i]i^ 

Twice again he said it boldly, 

Then they gave him freedom from ])onds 

But the Ravens watched him daily, 

Lest he steal back to his paleface 

Father and kin at old Cambridge. 

To be watched is a bond galling, 

As are fetters of cold iron; 

To be watched is a bold insult, 

Harder to bear than the gross charge 

Of black crimes like falsehood and theft. 

For it implies both these and more; 

But Cateechee and her husl)and 

Bore it meekly and with patience. 

But it weakened the oath they took. 

They built them a wigwam far up 

In the valley. 'Twas a lovely 

Spot, selected by old Kuruga — 

They were children of the old chief. 

By a solemn oath in council. 

Beautiful for situation, 

Overlooking the clear ri^■er. 

With its foaming shoals and high falls. 

Stood the wigwam mid gropes primal. 



CATEECBKE OF KEKOWEE. 41 

And hard l>y ji gin-o:liiig-, cold spring, 
That burst from the base of the hills, 
Like walls high and rough and bristling, 
With rocks, buttress, and great capstone, 
Of the earthy walls that shut in 
The long, narrow river valley; 
Flecked with smoking wigwams, lakelets, 
Glimmering in the white simshine, 
Mid copse and maize-fields, nude and l)are. 
A spine of liright silver ran through 
The vale, 'twas the flowing river 
Ribbed with pel^bled, crystal l)rooklets, 
Twas here that Awattahowwe, 
The old hunter with the long bow, 
Taught the captive, Allan Francis, 
IIow to shoot the buzzing arrow 
Straight as an airbeam to the mark. 
Then his clever pupil roaiued far, 
With the hardy, skilful hunters, 
O^er the rugged hills and mountains. 
From clear Swananoah's green ])anks 
To Oconee's winding channel — 
Swananoah, Shawnee's highway, 
Road of those old forest gipsies, 
Roaming over the land, like herds 
Of wild bisons, from the clear lakes 
Of the South, to where wild prairies. 
Like seas of gi-ass, overspread thick 



42 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

A^'ith wild tiowers, greeted their ^'ision. 

Bj the rapid Nantahala, 

The old North state's wildest river. 

His well-aimed shafts l)r()uo-ht down fat bucks 

And the niin))le roe, whose soft pelt 

Isaqueena tanned pliant — 

Hangings for her cozy wigwam. 

Nautoiyalih it was called then, 

"Middle of the sun," they called it, 

For tall groves of dark, green hendock 

Studded thickly its Vvdld, steep banks, 

As it flowed from due north to south. 

On its rugged way to the blue sea. 

Thus the sun could kiss its waters 

Only when he reached mid-heaven; 

But all the more sweet are kisses 

That are rare, and stolen quickly — 

Snatched in passing, their influence 

Lingers on the lips of the thief; 

Or when twenty-four hours roll 'twixt llicm. 

At the midday they are sweetest, 

When the deep green forest lends its 

Secret chandlers to the lovers. 

From Hiwassa, Choctaw River 

(////m.s'.svV/, Indians called it). 

To old Tugalo he sought game, 

TiKj'ihuft^ Town at the Forks, 

Where the limpid Seneca joins 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 45 

Tugalo's bold, surgiug waters,* 

TiigiJuyl marked the limit 

Of his hunting journeys southward; 

And the Ennoree his tramps east, 

Ennoree, where muscadines grow 

In its fertile, vine-clad valleys, 

Roamed the paleface, Allan Francis, 

But the shrewd old hunters watched him. 

From his strong bow flew an arrow. 

Like a ray of brilliant sunlight. 

It stung the heart of the roebuck; 

The old hunters praised the good shot, 

But all of them watched him closely. 

The sweet fruit of the vine they ate, 

And slept and refreshed themselves. 

Feasted on the loin of the fat roe])Uck, 

Bathed in the clear waters, o'erhung 

With vines hiden with jet-l)lack fruit. 

But they never ceased to watch him. 

Lil)erty is sweet, but not with bounds, 

The sold chafes when lines restrain it; 

The tiiought thus far and no farther 

Goads the spirit till the ))ody 

Leaps the limits of its prison, 

Like a wild doe chased by flerce wolves. 

(Jod warns us of dangers fatal, 

Then bills the living soul go free. 

In illimitable re gions 



*The river l)ears the name of the town. 



46 CATEECHEK OF KEEOWEE. 

Of iuiiiiortal truth and g-lory. 

Bald restraint will never mend souls 

Broken by sin's awful power; 

Freedom's the key to ri^-ht living'. 

To he old Kuruga's true son, 

Allan Francis must have freedom 

Boundless as Kuruga's free will. 

The thrice-saered Tornlmli^ 

With hr;)ad valleys lovely as God 

Could make them, and peaks sublimely 

Grand as e\ er greeted eye of man, 

AVith ii territory bounded, 

Could not hold the spirit of him 

Whose soul craved for that sweet freedom 

With which God has crowned his children. 

Allan Francis, the brave captive, 

Will not be bound in cold honor 

By the sacred ToeuJuih. 

Freedom is right, bonds make evil; 

Bight makes freedom, wrong makes fetters; 

'Tis not right to ])e l>ound with oaths. 

If our freedom's taken from us, 

'Tis an insult to true manhoo<l. 

There is no wrong when the fetters 

Forced on lis are hurled to tlu^ earth; 

Allan Francis and Cateechee, 

Then, will be free as God made them. 

Or they will die for sweet freedom. 



BOOK IV. 

Sprlng comes like a gentle maiden 

Whose face beams with smiles of iove, 

And whose garments rustle softly. 

Like the snowy wings of angels, 

And infuse the air with aromas 

Sweet as those of myrrh and cassia. 

On the balmy breezes float songs 

Of birds and the soft hum of bees, 

AVhile shru])s and sweet-scented liowers 

Burden the air with their perfumes. 

Even the brook's song is sweeter 

Than when winter reigned on the earth 

With its chilling blast and glittering 

Icy scepter that broke the lim])s 

Of great sturdy oaks, and bowed low 

The heads of every green-plumed pine, 

And bent the arms of the cedars 

To earth, making them cones of snow — 

Wigwams for the nimble rabbits, 

AVarm, white cones where the red fox hid. 

Nf)W the sky, d()me-sha})ed, clear, and blue. 

Is the timid rabl)it\s wigwam, 

And the cedars lift their long limbs, 

And invite the birds to seek rest 

(47) 



48 CATEECHEK OF KEEOWEE. 

And sing mid their flexible ])Oiio:li.s. 
Bees and insects liiini over the land, 
Joyfully hum rln/thmic music, 
jNIingcled with the sweetest odors 
Of ten thousand flowers and shrul^s. 
Nature lives and breathes and sings songs 
Of hope and love from ten million 
Throats and beaks of gaily plumed l)irds. 
Opened wide by the sun's wju-m rays. 
Flowers cai-pet earth's green surface 
With sweet-scented, richly wrought mats 
Colored every delicate shade 
By the magic brush of nature. 
And out from beneath the flowers, 
Dotting landscapes far and nearer. 
And out from beneath the texture 
Of green leaves and grasses tangled, 
Peeped everywhere wild red 
Strawberries, sweet, ripe, and tempting — 
Nj^ture's luscious l)ounty to man 
And beast and bird in the spring-time. 
And the Cherokee maids picked them. 
And the matrons watched the ])rown maids 
Berrying in the deep green woods, 
Wliile the wood-thrusli caroled sweetly, 
Berrying in the melh)W sunshine, 
While the butterflies, on noiseless 
Wings c)f gold and silver, fluttered 



C ATE EC HE K OP KEEO^VEE. 49 

Over them and all around them; 
Berrying l>y the prattling Ijrooklet, 
While the groslieak chirped so gaily; 
Berrying on tlie sloping hillside, 
AVhile the crickets chirped so sadly; 
Berrying in the cool glen's shadows, 
While the saucy squirrel scolded. 
'Twas a lovely group of maidens — 
Nut-l)rown maidens with lilack tresses 
Falling o'er their shapely shoulders; 
Nut-browii arms, bare to the elbow, 
Tapering, and dimpled at the joints; 
Nut-brown lindjs, from knee to buskin, 
Bare like the arms of the maidens; 
Nut-]>rown faces, with lips stained red. 
And jet-])lack eyes, s})arkling brightly — 
Beauties they were. Nature's beauties; 
Nut-brown maidens, dressed so sparely. 
In the purest white doeskin kilts. 
But were dressed enough for comfort. 
For ease, and for gracefid carriage; 
Nut-brown maidens, modest and pure. 
Wild brown maidens, sweet and simple, 
Free as the air they all breathed; 
Free from fashion, cruel ruler 
Of earth's fairest and best beings; 
Free from art's deceptive swindle. 
By which the maid of the paleface 
4 



50 CATEECHEE OE KEEOWEE. 

Ofteu cozens her dull suitor, 
For all is not gold that glitters. 
These wild maidens, tall and queenly, 
Primal maids of Keeowee's vale, 
Wandered far out into green woods. 
With cane baskets, striped with gayest 
Colors — scarlet, blue, and golden — 
Picking the red, juicy berries. 
And Cateechee went with the staid 
Matrons, to guard and guide the maids, 
The nut-bro\vu maids, picking l)erries. 
Two long winters and one summer 
Allan Francis and Cateechee 
Had been captives in the valley. 
The old Ravens were less watchful. 
And the matrons eyed less sharply 
Now Cateechee and her hus])an(l. 
The sun slowly sank ))ehind clouds 
Black and threatening; distant thunder 
Pealed forth warnings of the ai)pr<)aching 
Storm, as maids and matrons hastened 
Back to their homes after the outing. 
And in their wild rush from the storm 
The old squaws ceased to watch Cateechee, 
But ran wildly through the dark woods 
To their wigwams in the valley. 
And as they ran Allan Francis 
Met them, looking for Cateechee. 



CATEECHKE OF KKEOWEE. 51 

To all his iiuiuirics matron 

And maid answered, pointinof backward 

Quickly as they tied, Ayrate, 

She's behind, and then pressed on 

With quick steps and heaving bosoms. 

''Papoose makes her weary, papoose 

]\Iakes the Deer's Head droop," said one scjuaw 

As he met her. " The Good Spirit 

Speed thy fleet feet, gentle paleface. 

Bravest hunter, and bring thee to 

Thy good squaw,'' said she. Ayrafe., 

She's behind us, she's below us, 

That word thrilled his heart as he ran 

And he ])reathed a prayer to God 

For Cateechee — for her freedom. 

"Aye, ay rate shall be her fate; 

She shall dwell below this nation 

Of wdld Cherokee l)raves," said he, 

' ' If God favors my ]x)ld purpose. " 

While his heart beat fast he met her. 

Met Cateechee far in the rear. 

Pressing forward with her baby, 

]Met her just as the storm swept down 

On them in its wildest f my. 

Quickly they sought a good shelter 

From the driving wind and hailstones, 

Under a great shelving ])oulder 

On the densely wooded hillside. 



52 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

And as the wind howled around tlieni, 

And the lio^htning's blinding flashes 

Illuniined the wild, dark forest, 

Planned well their escape from the \ale— 

Keeowee's vale, Avild and lovely — 

From shrewd old Kuruga's poAver, 

From the cf)nstant watch of. Ravens, 

From the thraldom of the nation, 

And the law of savage customs. 

'' With thee to thy kindred Fll go,'' 

Said Cateechee in a whisper, 

Lest the Avoods bear the bold promise 

To the ears of some old liaven; 

"'To the wigwam of the paleface 

Let us hasten while the storm howls; 

'Twill be our friend, and spoil our trail 

And ]»lin(l the eyes of the Ravens." 

Then she wrapped the baby snugly 

In a pliant cloak of doeskin. 

And gave it to Allan Francis; 

It was the ])adge of submission 

To the wishes of her husband.* 

He took it and breathed (iijratc 

In a whisper. ""Nay! otarre 

Over the hills," said she, " The Ravens 

AVill send out swift-footed runners 

Ere the morning comes to the vale 

*SeeNoteI. 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 53 

Or l)irds twitter in the thicket. 
They will intercept our journey. 
And thou .shalt die, for our sacred 
Word thou hast said, Tornltali. 
Over the hills, g'entle paleface! 
Thy bow is strong-, and thy quiver 
Is full of well-plumed arrows; 
The Good Spirit loves thee, gentle 
Paleface, friend of squaAvs! otcwrc^^ 
And seek some nook in the mountains, 
Where the hunters seek not their game. 
And there we'll hide till Ravens, 
Having spied well the land where (hvell 
Thy kin, thy good paleface ])rethren. 
Shall report to old Kuruga 
That the angry lightning smote thee. 
Or the cat of God devoured thee. 
Then, when they cease to guard the trail, 
We may go to thy good kindred." 
"Thou hast spoken well, Cateechee, 
Over the high hills we will go, 
Midway Keeowee and Nayuhi 
Shall l)e our good place of hiding 
Till the Ravens cease to seek us.'' 
Having spoken thus to each other. 
With strides rapid and full of hope 
They sought their good place of hiding, 
* See Note.!. 



54 CATEECHEE 07^ KEEOWEE. 

Midway Keeowee and Nayuhi. 
And they reached it at the dawnina: 
Of the morninof, just as the birds 
Twittered in the lonesome forest. 



BOOK V. 

The storm swept the valley for hours, 
And then there were silence and calm, 
And the lightnings Hashed their red glare 
From clouds floating in the distance — 
Broken and disordered colunms, 
Fleeing into darkness, like corps 
Of defeated troops when routed. 
And the growl of thunder far off, 
Like great cannon slowly })ooming, 
Covering the rear of the army 
Fast retreating in the gloaming 
From the victors pressing it hard 
In their triumph over their foes, 
Told which way the storm king had tied 
With his caissons of the heavens. 
And each flash of his retreating 
Cannon lit the narrow valley 
Weirdly, and yet still more ^veirdly 
The clear waters of the river 
Glinnnering in the blaze electric 
Of high heaven's heavy mortars, 
Belching from their black throats swift Ijolt.- 
Of death and light beaming on the earth 

(55) 



56 CATEECHEE OF KfJEoWEE. 

'Neath the scoue of waning contiict. 
From the besom of destruction 
There oft comes light that the world needs; 
But the ethics of Ijhick darkness, 
And grim death, the greatest tyrant. 
No one ever yet wrote for man. 
The leaves of trees, drenched hy the storm, 
Wept like women burdened at heart 
With great sorrow for their loved ones; 
But there was much light on their tears — 
Those bright flashes came and then fled 
Quickly, but the leaves shone brighter 
When those flashes came o'er the vale, 
And their tears were then transformed 
To rare diamonds, sparkling brightly. 
It is sweeter to weep by light 
Than to cover tears in darkness. 
Light decreases sorrow like balm 
Poured on wounds decreases their pain. 
And grief is the fruit of darkness. 
Clouds and night make Nature's Aveepings. 
Hope's Avee light burns to transform grief, 
To set free the pining captive; 
'TAvas the storm that gave occasion 
To the captives, Allan Francis 
And Cateechee, to seek freedom; 
'Twas the storm that covered their trail, 
And held in leash their bold captors, 



Cateechee of keeowee. 57 

And gave fresh oil to hope's wee flame 
By which they fled from their bondage. 
X song, born of meHow moonl)eams 
In the silent hour of calm night, 
May awake the sleeping anger 
Of the red men in the valley, 
And send them in hot haste to seek 
Their bold captive, Allan Francis. 
As strange as it may l)e, 'twas so; 
For the pale moon rose high over clifl's 
And crags that shut in the calm vale. 
And with her beams, mellow and bright, 
There came a sweet song in the night. 
Sweet, because it was soft and sad — 
A song born, it seemed, of sorrow — 
A sad, mystic song of love, sick 
With gi'ief and cares and sore tr()ul)les — 
A song for no ear designed, 
But to comfort the sad singer 
In the slowly moving night hours — 
A song called forth by the scepter 
Of the pale moon as she touched 
With her mystic wand the sore spot 
Of the singer's troubled 1)os(mi. 
Light is burdened with songs of peace, 
But 'tis the great light of broad day 
That wakes joyful lays in ovu* hearts. 
And tunes them to "-olden measure. 



58 CATEFAi'llEE OF KKEOWER. 

And e'en moonlioht has its voices; 
But they are sad, low, sweet earols, 
And attvmed to sadder measure. 
The great eahn that night Mas brciken 
By a niocking-bird''s sad night song; 
A night song of Coonee latee,* 
Triek-tongue of the Soutiiern forest — 
A song from the dripping 1)ranches 
Of a tree near Alhm's wigwam. 
It was a low, mellow carol. 
Mellow as moonbeams in the vale, 
Mellow as the light that woke it; 
'Twas the Coonee latee's sweet song 
That the Haven of Statayi, 
Passing that w^ay, heard lo\\' and sweet 
The soft dropping song of the bird,'^" 
That told of her deepest sorrows 
For lost nestlings, for aught we know. 
Was the only sound that he heard 
As he patroled the broad valley. 
' ' Coonee latee is sad sometimes, 
What makes sad the Coonee latee i 
Does the Coonee latee eall me? 
Does it say Salooe sadly i 
Aye, Salooe is its soft song, 
Triek-tongue mourns in its sweet carol,"' 
Said he. ' ' Does the Ct)onee latee 
* See Note K. 



CATEECTIEE OF KKEOWEE. '• 

Mourn for nauo:bt, does Cooiiee latee 

Whisper secrets to the Raven i "' 

Speaking thus, he came to the door 

Of the wig-wani, Allan's wigwam, 

And he pushed aside the curtain. 

The skin curtain in the doorway, 

And lo! Allan and Cateechec 

Were not in their cozy wigwam; 

It was empty, and Salooe 

Stepped back and drew inward his breath. 

And then, like the l>last of trumpet, 

Shrill and loud and chilling the blood, 

Like a panther's grilling night scream, 

''Kchd-hrrro! Eeha-hn'o! " 

The dread war-whoop of the red man. 

Clarion shout of Cherokee braves, 

Echoed thrt)ugh the silent valley. 

Answered l)y a thousand warriors. 

The hills shook, and threw back the shout, 

'■'"Echa-lu'vro, Kclid-Jicrro! " 

Till the valley, rocks, hills, and coves 

Seemed to have great throats of tine l)rass 

And a voice like that of thunder. 

Loud, deep-toned, and tongues to use it. 

To Salooe's call the braves came— 

Came to the lodge of the paleface; 

But lol the lirave paleface was gone. 

And Cateechee had fled with him. 



60 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

They tore their hair, stamped on the o-ronnd, 

Cursed much by their evil spirit; 

And then bound each other l)y oaths 

To l)ring back their captives quickly. 

''Toeuhah! To>'„h<,h ."' "^ 

Rang out loudly on the night air, 

Like their war-whoop, Krha-herro^ 

And the moimtains echoed the word. 

Doubly sacred to the red man. 

Runners, fleet of foot and cunning, 

AVere sent out to watch all the trails 

Leading to the good land of the paleface; 

While the warriors scoured the forest. 

Seeking for the hated captives 

Daring to break their word sacred. 

Many days and weeks they sought them, 

Far and near they roamed o'er the land. 

Looking for trails of the paleface. 

The search was vain, and the Ravens, 

One by one, returned to the vale 

With no tidings of the paleface 

Anci Cateechee and her })aby. 

Old Colona said that for days 

Spied he well the paleface's good land — 

* Every oath among the ancient Cherokees was con- 
firmed by the sacred word Toeuhah. When that word 
was uttered in confirmation of an oath they never vio- 
lated it. 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 61 

Watched the men, and marked their a()ing 

And their coming, and heard them talk 

To each other round their fii-esides 

At night, while he listened to them 

Under the eaves of their buildings. 

They said Allan Francis was dead; 

And told each the other, sadly, 

How the red men took him far off 

And then burned him bound to the stake. 

Spied the women at their washing 

By the side of the brook, prattling 

O'er the pel>l)les; he heard them talk, 

While he hid l)ehind the great rocks, 

And they talked of Allan Francis — 

How the red men must have killed him; 

How they l)arned his cozy cabin. 

And took the babe and Cateechee 

Back to Keeowee's far-off vale. 

So it was determined by all. 

As they listened to the Raven, 

That their captive, Allan Franc-is, 

Surely had met with misfortune. 

And had perished in the dark forest 

With Cateechee and her baljy. 

Then spake boldly a young chieftain, 

A brave who ])ore marks of l)attle, 

Oconettee, the one-eyed. 

Said the lightning smote them to earth 



62 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

And wolves devoured them (quickly. 
This speeeh seemed to please the council 
But shrewd old Salooe was mute; 
The wise Ra\'en of Statavi 
Was not pleased; for he sat moody, 
Then stole out from the great council, 
And led a few young hraves with him. 
And with their bows and full quivers 
They set out to look for the trail 
Of their captive, Allan Francis. 
Rambling far through the green forest, 
They came to footprints in the bed 
Of a brooklet in the mountiiins. 
Like hounds keen of scent, they hunted 
O'er and o'er the mountain's steep sides 
Till they found a trunk of poplar, 
Large and hollow, with an entrance. 
AVithin it was a bed of lK)ughs 
And moss, a snug shelter from rain 
And the dews distilled l)y night. 
""It is their house," said Salooe, 
"Stump-house of the paleface," said he 
In derision. "Stump-house of dog. 
Paleface sleeps like the dog," he said. 
And they grunted all approval 
And thus named the rugged mountain."" 
Then they passed through the forest, 
* See Note L. 



CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 63 

Like dark shadows skulking, with bows 
Half drawn, ready to shoot Allan 
Like a rabbit running for life. 
Allan Francis and Cateechee 
Were on the eve of their journey 
To their white friends at old Cam bridge. 
On the banks of Tugaltiyi bold 
He had felled a great tall poplar, 
And made a canoe to bear them. 
In the dark night, o'er the distance. 
On it he wrought while they sought him 
Round his stump-house on the mountain. 
And Cateechee, with her baby 
Strapped to her back, gathered l)errics 
On the banks of the bold creek 
At the base of the steep mountain. 
They saw her, and '■'• Echa-herro ! '' 
Their shrill war-cry, burst from their lips, 
And Cateechee, startled, sprang up 
Like the wild roe of the forest; 
She sprang forward like a fleet deer 
Stung by the swift, buzzing arrow; 
Down the winding creek's* vale she fled 
To where the clear waters leaped down 
Depths abysmal, over a chasm, 
Tnto a pool dark and gloomy. 
Ninety feet the waters plunged down; 
* See Note M. 



64 CATEECHKE OF KEEOM^EE. 

First they leaped ten feet from the top, 
O'er a ledge of shelving granite, 
Forming a thick veil of water 
O'er the space far under the ledge, 
Over which thej leaped wildly 
Till they fell, ^nth noise of thunder, 
On a jutting crag of granite; 
Then burst into spray and white foam; 
Then leaped, hissing, eighty feet down 
Into the dark pool at the base; 
Where the waters l)oiled and foamed 
In great fury, like a seething caldron. 
At the falls C'ateechee halted. 
Stood still and erect a moment. 
Looking here and there, like a doe 
Bayed ))y angry hounds of the chase; 
Tier dark eyes, like diamonds, flashed 
On the warriors })ressing forward 
Like a pack of snarling black wolves; 
But her look defiant brought forth, 
' '71(7(1 ((-/terra ! Fa ■}( a-li (rro ! " 
That war-cry was her death-warrant, 
Read aloud by old Salooe 
And his l)and of bloody savages. 
Allan Francis heard the war-whoop, 
As he came from where his crude boat 
Had l)een launched on Tugaluyi, 
Ready for the voyage that night. 



CATEECHEK OF KEEOWEE. 65 

From below the falls he looked ii[) 
And saw standing on the rock's brink, 
O'er the awful chasm, Cateechee. 
Daimtless she stood, a Diana 
Of the forest, and the soft rays 
Of the red sun, sinking in seas 
Of clouds, goideu-hued and purple, 
Threw a rainbow over her head, 
As she stood midst the spray rising 
Round her form, with her plump ])a))y 
Bound to her back with doeskin straps. 
A swift arrow buzzed l)y her head, 
Then another, and another, 
, Till a shower of shafts flew past 
Her; away down the deep ravine 
They flew, and then fell on the rocks 
And sand with sounds sharp and clicking. 
In the midst of the great shower 
Of darts her hand waved she with grace, 
.Vnd then leaped down the abyss dark. 
Allan Francis saw what happened. 
And then crouched behind a l)oulder; 
Out of sight he lay and watched well 
Every movement of the warriors. 
They came and stood on the same rock 
Where Cateechee had stood, facing 
The dread foe that yelped like wolves 
As they rushed toward their captive. 
5 



66 CATKECHEK OE KEKOWEE. 

Tlien they looked down the chusin, yuwiiiiig, 

Dizzy, and hissing, as 'twere a den 

Of great vipers, writhing in pain. 

And twice angered by some mad foe. 

Then they howled like hounds of the chase. 

For their game escaped them just when 

She was almost in tlieir fii'ui gi'asp. 

H(jw oft it is the prize leaves us 

Just Avhen we reach forth to seize it! 

It was so with Allan Francis; 

Just as his crude craft was launched 

His hopes seemed to vanish like dust 

When falls to earth the hasty shower. 

His heart ached; still there was a beam 

Of hope, if his eyes were not false. 

Did not the foot of Cateechee 

I^and on the crag jutting outward. 

Just ten feet below the great rock 

On which she stood like a statue 

While the arrows fell around her? 

Then, did she not vanish quickly 

Out of sight, like a dim shadow { 

Did she not glide quickly under 

The ledge and behind the water. 

The thick veil of falling water ^ 

Was there left to him ground for li()])c^ 

Was Cateechee snugly hiding. 

Or did sojne shaft fatal pierce her ^ 




m 




H'* ^ 






CATEKCIIEE OF KEEOWEE. 69 

Was her body, limp in cold death, 

Hanging on some Jutting houlder 

Far down the depths of the higli falls i? 

Or in the great pool of water. 

Hissing, seething like a great pot 

Boiling over its gi'eat 1 >laek rim i 

Dark forebodings crushed his sad sovil. 

But beams of hope came to cheer him. 

He iK^lield the sa^■nge warriors, 

As they looked down the great depths. 

One l)y one they looked down the falls; 

Then Salooe, thwarted, peered down 

The deep chasm, and then led his men 

From the falls back to the stump-house, 

Where, ct)ncealed, they waited for Allan 

To retin-n from the chase at eve — 

They divined he was out hunting. 

And, while they all watched the stump-house, 

Allan Francis climbed the steep clitl', 

And from where Cateechee last stood 

Called her name, Cateechee, softly 

Whispered her name, and she heard it: 

In the din and roar of the falls 

She heard her name whispered softly. 

Sb'-^ knew well the tones of the voice, 

/knd came forth from under the rock, 

And stood on the crag where, foaming 

All around her, tlie mad waters 



70 CATKECHEK OF KEEOWEE. 

Leaped and pluug-ed high into the air. 

Like a faljled mermaid she stood 

Mid the spouting-, angry waters. 

Alhm threw down h)ng buckskin thongs, 

And Cateechee bound them round her. 

Thus secured, he drew her safely 

From the sleek crag on which she stood 

To the rock from which she leaped 

In her bold escape from the braves 

Led by wily old Salooe. 

Thus delivered, they climbed down the clitt'. 

Stepping with care from rock to rock, 

Till they reached the foaming water. 

Then they walked in the stream "'s bed 

To the river, and left no trails 

By which the keen-eyed old warriors. 

Like keen-scented hounds, might trace Ihem 

To their boat on Tugaliiyi. 

When they reached their crude boat, tloating 

At its mooring, the moon was up, 

Lighting the bold river's waters 

Like a broad belt of pure silver 

Stretching through the silent, dark woods. 

Allan and Cateechee seized each 

An oar, and sent the boat far out 

Lito the broad ri\ er's current. 

Then down the swift stream the l)oat sped. 

Driven by oars wielded l)y hands 



CATEECHEE OP KEEOWEE. 71 

Nerved 1)Y the thought of freedom, 
Of home, of kind friends and kindred. 
Swiftly onward, and still onward, 
Tug'aluyi bore their crude craft. 
And ere morning's songsters piped, 
Trilled, and whistled to the captives. 
They were safe from cruel hatred 
And vindictive plots of red men, 
Far beyond Kuruga's wild realm. 
Out of old Salooe\s power. 
Ere long they left their craft floating 
On Sa-sannah's peaceful bosom, 
And came through the primal forest 
To their paleface friends and kindred 
At old Cambridge, now Avell named 
Ninety-Six, to honor the deed 
Of the heroine, Cateechee. 
Like Naomi and Ruth they came, 
The great wonder of the people; 
Like them they were gladly Avelcomed, 
Like them they were greatly loved. 
Like them they lived to a ripe old age 
And in great peace lay down in death. 



APPENDIX. 

EXPLANATORY NOTES. 
Note A. 
The Cherokee Indians called the panther "the 
cat of God." They admired its cunning, its 
stealthy step, and its prodigious leap; hence all 
male children were made to sleep from childhood 
to manhood on pallets of panther-skins, that they 
might imbibe the cunning and the ferocity of 

the beast. 

Note B. 

The distance from Iveeowee to the old fort, 
Cambridge, was estimated by the Indian traders 
to be about ninety-six miles. The name, Cam- 
bridge, was changed to Ninety-Six, in commemo- 
ration of Cateechee's bold ride to save the set- 
tlers from massacre by Kuruga's warriors. Six 
Miles, a small creek in Pickens County; Twelve 
Miles, a small river, also in Pickens County; 
Eighteen Creek, marking a large portion of the 
boundary-line between Anderson and Pickens 
Counties; Three-and-Twenty and Six-and-Twen- 
ty are creeks in Anderson County. All of these 
streams were named in commemoration of Catee- 

(73) 



74 CATKECHER OF KEEOWEE. 

chee's heroic ride. They are respectively six, 
twelve, eighteen, twenty-three, and twenty-six 
miles from the old Indian town, Keeowee, once 
the capital of the Lower (yherokees. 

Note C. 
The earliest white traders with the Cherokees 
inform us that the women were fairer than those 
of other tribes, and that tliey were tall and 
graceful. Every female child, from infancy to 
womanhood, was made to sleep on fawn-skin 
pallets, that they might imbibe the grace of car- 
riage and the beauty of the fawn. Adair informs 
us that the Cherokee women were not only 
graceful, but most excellent housekeepers. 

Note D. 
In every Cherokee town there was a Raven, 
whose office was to watch over the town, give 
warning when dangers threatened, and overlook 
every interest of his tribe. They Avere the great 
advisers of their people. The office was doubt- 
less, as the name itself implies, suggested by the 
crows, one of which always keeps watch while 
the flock feeds, and whose cry is always a signal 
for flight. 

Note E. 

Cheeohee is a remarkable instance of the pro- 
nunciation of a word keeping its original sound. 



APPENDIX. 75 

while its form has been changed almost beyond 
recognition. Cheeohee is pronounced as if it 
were written Choy. 

ISIOTE F. 

Conneross Creek, in Oconee County, was 
named from the fact that a wild duck built its 
nest under a cliff — or, rather, under a great rock 
that projected over the creek from a perpendic- 
vxlar cliff on its banks. When the duck flew from 
her nest she was compelled to di'op downward 
until sbe cleared the rock, and then she arose. 
Hence the name Kawanurasui in the dialect of 
the Lower Cherokees, and Kawanulasui in the 
Upper Cherokees, abbreviated !)y the Indians 
to Kawanuras. 

Note G. 

The beautiful tradition of Jocassee is recorded 
by William Gilmore Simms in " Wigwam and 
Cabin." The Oconees and the Little Estatoees 
were minor tribee of the Cherokee nation, and 
between these two tribes thei'c was deadly en- 
mity. Chatuga, belonging to the Oconees, 
aspired to be chief of the nation at large; but 
the Estatoees defeated his designs, hence the 
enmity that existed between these two tribes. 
Nargoochee, a young brave of the Estatoees, fell 
in love with Jocassee, an Oconee maid, the 
daughter of AttakuUa, a chief At a great wolf- 



76 CATEECHEE OF KEEOWEE. 

hunt in Jocassee Valley, Cheeoehee slew Nar- 
goochee, his sister's lover and plighted husband. 
The bloody murderer came to the river where 
Jocassee and her father, Attakulla, sat in a canoe 
awaiting the return of the hunters. When he 
came the scalp of Nargoochee dangled from 
his belt. The fair maid gave no sign of grief 
when she learned of the foul murder of her 
lover, but sat still in the canoe till it reached the 
middle of the river, then called the Saratay, the 
main branch of the Keeowee. When the boat 
reached the middle of the current she arose from 
her seat and plunged into the deep water, deter- 
mined, if she could not be Nargoochee's bride in 
this world, to join him in the happy hunting- 
ground of the Estatoees. Thus perished the 
beautiful Jocassee. The valley and the river 
called by her name were named in honor of her 
tragic death. 

Note H. 
" The Cherokee name for the deer was ahowwe, 
and aivatahoivioe, a very common term among 
them, meant ' the great deer-killer of God for 
the people.' Since my time this title was very 
honorable among them. Every town solemnly 
appointed one — him whom they saw that God 
had at sundry times blessed with better success 
than his brethren in supplying them with a holy 



APPENDIX. 77 

banquet, that they might eat and rejoice before 
the divine essence." — Quoted by Ijogan, in his 
^^ History of Upper South Carolina," from Adair. 

Note I. 
The Cherokee women always kept their off- 
spring when any sejiaration resulted l)etwcen 
husband and wife. It was the law of the Chero- 
kees. When a wife thus placed her babe in the 
hands of her husband, it was the strongest 
pledge she could give to follow him wherever he 
might go. 

Note J. 

The Cherokee otarre means "over the hills." 
Ayrate signifies " lower," "below." The nation 
was divided into two grand divisions — the "Over 
Hills," otarre; and the 'Under Hills," those be- 
low. Ayrate therefore conveys the idea of that 
which is below or behind. 

Note K. 

Coonee latee was the Indian name of the mock- 
ing-bird. I wish the name " mocking-bird " could 
be blotted out of our vocabulary — it is so harsh, 
and by no means musical. Our sweetest and 
most famous songster should have a musical 
name. Coonee latee is full of euphony — it signi- 
fies " trick-tongue." 

The "dropping song" of the mocking-bird be- 



78 C ATE EC HE E OF KEEOWEE. 

gins with a high note and sinks gradually to the 
lowest key. It is rai-ely heard, except in the 
mating season. 

Note L. 
Stump-House Mountain is in the northwestern 
portion of Oconee County. It is on the direct 
line of the old survey of the Blue Ridge railroad. 
The mountain is punctured by an unfinished 
tunnel through solid granite. 

Note M. 
Isaqueena Creek, named in honor of Cateeehee, 
whose Choctaw name was Isaqueena. Isaqueena 
Falls are within a few hundred yards of the 
southern entrance of the tunnel through Stump- 
House Mountain. See Note L. 



nuu 



5 1898 



